Honorees

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State Honoree

Lily Harris

Lily Harris, 12, of Green River, Wyo., a sixth-grader at Lincoln Middle School, took it upon herself to water flowers in her city’s downtown, sold her own stuffed animals to help a boy with a brain injury travel to his doctor, and collected donations for families displaced by a wildfire in Montana. When gas prices and related tax revenues dropped, Lily’s town could no longer afford to pay someone to water the flowers in its downtown area, she said. So Lily collected 40 milk jugs from a recycling center, filled them with water, loaded them into her family’s car, and asked her mother to drive around to 20 municipal flower pots so she could pour water on them. She’s already collecting seeds to replant all of the pots this year to save her town additional tax money.
When Lily learned that a boy with a brain injury needed to travel 12 hours each month to visit an expensive specialist, she wanted to help. “I knew I could not pay for his doctor,” she said, “but I could help him get there.” So she gathered up her stuffed animals – her most valuable possessions – and offered them for sale in front of a grocery store. Passers-by gave her enough money to buy gas for the boy’s doctor visits for the rest of the year. Lily also wanted to do something for families who lost their homes to a Montana wildfire. She knocked on doors after school to explain the need, and sent donations to the Lolo Peak Fire Disaster Relief Fund. “I feel so good when I volunteer!” said Lily.